In the United States and elsewhere, governmental bodies such as the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) require pilots and pilots-in-training to obtain various certifications in order to operate an aircraft. Each certification may relate to flying an aircraft of a specific category and class. The “category” on a pilot certificate refers to the broad classification of aircraft that the pilot is certified to fly. Categories of aircraft include, for example, fixed-wind airplane, rotorcraft, glider, lighter-than-air, powered-lift, powered parachute, and weight-shift-control aircraft. Some categories are further broken down into more specific classes of aircraft for which the pilot must obtain certification. In contrast, the “class” on a pilot certificate refers to the type of propulsion, and may further refer to whether the pilot is certified to fly over land or sea. For example, airplane class ratings include single-engine land, multi-engine land, single-engine sea, and multi-engine sea. Rotorcraft class ratings include helicopter and gyroplane.
In addition to receiving certifications for specific categories and classes of aircraft, certain types of aircraft also require the pilot to obtain a type rating. For example, a type rating may be required in a specific make and model of an airplane if the airplane is “large” (e.g., greater than 12,500 lb gross weight) or if the airplane is powered by one or more jet engines. As an example, a captain of a Boeing 747 flying domestically for a scheduled airline would be required to have a valid Airline Transport Pilot certificate with an airplane category rating, a multi-engine land class rating, and a Boeing 747 type rating.
Private, airline, and military pilots and pilots-in-training spend many training hours in training programs in order to become certified in a particular category, class, and/or type rating. These training programs tend to be very expensive, particularly for basic airline training, airline training to obtain certain type ratings, and military aircraft training. For private pilots, these costs are typically borne by the pilot himself, whereas aircraft and military training program costs typically are borne by the airlines or the government, respectively.
Although traditional pilot training programs are successful at producing experienced and competent pilots, these programs may be improved. More particularly, it is desirable to provide pilot training systems and methods that may reduce the number of training hours required to produce certifiable pilots, thus reducing the overall cost of a training program. Other desirable features and characteristics of the embodiments will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the inventive subject matter and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the inventive subject matter.